CONVERSATIONAL’ VOICE

How teachers talk with children is an important consideration. Talking ‘with’ children rather than talking ‘to’ or ‘at’ them is ever so important. It helps students understand you as ‘one with them’, not someone over and above them. It is easy to talk down to children, and when that happens, the respect they hold for you becomes somewhat dampened.

The tone of voice needs to confirm teachers as being conversational when working with children. I often think of teachers in staff rooms and talking to conversational peers, speaking on the same level as their peers. When those same teachers attend their classes, their voices take on a ‘tone of command’ that can become almost perpetual. In metaphoric terms, their voices, which have been ‘quiet and car-like on a smooth bitumen road’, take on the grind of a 4WD travelling over rugged terrain. That grinding, shrill, loud, commanding voice is not something I would recommend as being of help to teachers wanting to engage with children.

Voice can embrace children; it can also be off-putting, distancing you from them and making the student group challenging to reach.

The teacher’s voice is their most powerful tool. Use it carefully.